ABIDJAN ,Ivory Coast – International mediators tried to intervene yesterday in Ivory Coast’s growing political crisis after both candidates in the disputed election said they were now president, raising fears the country could again be divided in two.
In the northern opposition stronghold of Bouake, several hundred people marched down a main boulevard yesterday afternoon, calling for incumbent Laurent Gbagbo to stand down. Villagers wielding machetes also created their own checkpoint in protest along one major road in the region.
“It’s important not to have violence, not to return to war; to find a peaceful solution,” former South African President Thabo Mbeki said yesterday after arriving in Abidjan to try and mediate at the behest of the African Union.
The international community has recognised opposition leader Alassane Ouattara as the winner of the presidential run-off vote held one week ago in Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa producer.
That, however, did not stop Gbagbo from defying calls to concede. On Saturday, he wrapped himself in the Ivorian flag as he was sworn in for another term at the presidential palace. Hours later, Ouattara told reporters that he too had been sworn into office.
The development effectively set up parallel governments and raised serious questions about who was actually in charge of this West African nation, which was split into a rebel-controlled north and government-controlled south by a 2002-2003 civil war.
Despite Ouattara’s international support, Gbagbo holds many of the key elements of power, including the army and the state media. (AP)
